Ganesha puja proves costly, 14 MLAs suspended

Mumbai, Mar 31: Over 14 MLAs were suspended on Friday, Mar 30 after they brought an idol in the Assembly and performed an aarti (fire rituals) in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

The MLAs including 13 MLAs from Shiv Sena and one from the BJP were suspended after they entered the House during zero hour with the statue of lord Ganesh and started singing a Marathi aarti. While, Dilip Walse Patil, Speaker repeatedly requested the MLAs to stop singing and maintain the decorum of the House. But they ignored his request and started the rituals.

Meanwhile, the House was adjourned for half-an-hour by the speaker to resolve the issue. But when the House resumed, the MLAs continued the aarti and raised slogans against the government.

Harshvardhan Patil, the legislative affairs minister moved a resolution to seek permission to suspend the legislators "for lowering the prestige of the House".

Shiv Sena MLA Eknath Shinde, who was also suspended, said, "We didn't lower the dignity of the House, our protest was to highlight the fact that in this state, even gods are not safe, only ministers and terrorists like Ajmal Qasab are."

OneIndia News